“…you will not have enough to take it in!”
December 20, 2011 | 1 CommentI love hearing stories of how God blesses our donors through their acts of generosity. Here is one such story that just goes to show that God works in incredible ways to show us He is worthy of our complete trust. It reminds me of the prophetic words of Malachi, and how God promises to bless His people as they live by faith in Him.
“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!” Malachi 3:10
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Bill,
I have been debating all day whether I would tell you this story or not. Obviously since you are reading this I decided to share but please understand that I’m sharing this only to show just how crazy awesome our God is. I thought you might be able to use it as you are meeting with potential supporters or sharing with churches.
As soon as Leah e-mailed me over Thanksgiving asking for my mailing address, I was hoping it was so you could send me a year-end letter. When it arrived in the mail I was very excited. I had been praying God would provide some funds to share with you. At the time I was pretty sure $10 was all I would be able to give. So I kept the note on my counter continuing to pray God would give me $10 to pass along. I knew I HAD to give something not matter how great or small it would be.
Thursday, when we got paid this last week every time I paid a bill there seemed to be more money left over. I checked every bill four times to make sure it was paid and I had done my math correctly. There was still money left over! I was so excited I was going to be able to send you more than $10 and still have money for groceries. All the numbers worked out so I wrote all the checks for Impact, church and another friend I support and then all the bills. I placed them in envelopes and took them to the mailbox so excited about how God had multiplied this paycheck.
The next day the mail came and there was my health insurance bill. I was so upset. I had looked over the budget and everything so many times making sure I hadn’t missed any bills, yet somehow I completely forgot this one was coming. All I had left in my account was $15 for groceries and other random household needs and the $30 I keep for emergencies. I had no clue what I was going to do. I had my Christmas offering check and check for counseling that hadn’t been mailed yet. So I voided them, ripped them up and spent almost everything on my insurance bill.
Friday night I went to bed angry with myself for being so stupid and now there was no money for groceries or our Christmas offering. I had no one to blame but myself for not looking at the budget closer. I was so angry I could hardly talk to God. How could I be such an idiot? Saturday was my birthday and I had agreed to get up early because the only time my friend Gess could take me to coffee was the morning. She knocked on my door that morning and when I opened it she and another friend were standing there with bags and bags of groceries. I could not believe it.
I hadn’t told them anything about not having the money to buy food. For the last several weeks she had felt the need to pull together some of our student ministry volunteers at the church to buy groceries as a birthday present. These weren’t even volunteers I’m all that close to; I just see them on Sundays. They had talked to the other volunteer who has Celiac’s and everything they bought was safe for me to eat. My cupboards, freezer and fridge have never been so full!
As if that wasn’t enough. At our youth group on Sunday night, the daughter of one of my supporters walked up to me, handed me a card and said open this. It was a Christmas card with a $50 gift certificate and a note apologizing that they had forgotten to send last month’s support (editorial comment: this donor is also a support-based minister). This was how they wanted to make up for missing it. WHAT?!
Sunday night I sat on my bed completely blown away. Why would God reward me for my stupidity? Because he loves me. I had to wrestle with that for awhile. I knew mid-November God wanted me to share something I had with you. I knew he wanted me to start supporting my other friend. Not giving those wasn’t an option, even if it meant going without some place else. In the end I didn’t go without at all. I have so much more than I started and others have more as well. Simple obedience. It was a million dollars. It was a small check. God blesses whatever it is he calls us to do or give.
Like I said, this isn’t to make me sound like some amazingly great person. Clearly the story reveals I’m not! Instead it is a story of how God provides for his work and his children. One thing I constantly pray for my supporters is that they will see how God multiplies their gifts. This weekend I got to experience that up close and personal. I still can’t believe it really happened. I know you’ve been working really hard at increasing your support so I thought maybe God could somehow use this story as you are calling through your list of supporters. I really believe that if people just took one step, if they just gave something they would begin to see God work in greater ways. I know my $25 doesn’t do much on its own, but I know what God can do with it is far greater than anything I can imagine.
Okay enough of my ramblings. I just thought I would share with you what God did this weekend, especially since you were part of His story. I love you guys and I’m so grateful I get to do ministry with you. Have a wonderful Christmas!
Wow, God and this story of Him at work is amazing. What a great and humbling Christmas story. Thanks for sharing it, S